Equipment Grants Program

The Equipment Grants Program (EGP) serves to increase access to shared-use special purpose equipment/instruments for fundamental and applied research for use in the food and agricultural sciences programs at institutions of higher education, including State Cooperative Extension Systems. The program seeks to strengthen the quality and expand the scope of fundamental and applied research at eligible institutions, by providing organizations with opportunities to acquire equipment/instruments that support the research, research training, and extension goals of the organization. Key aspects of the program include: * The acquisition of a single, well-integrated piece of equipment/instrument that may be too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NIFA grant programs. * The equipment must be fully operational by the conclusion of the first year of the project. * The program emphasizes shared-use instrumentation that will enhance the capabilities of researchers and extension agents both within and outside the proposing organization. * The program does not fund research projects, including research that uses the equipment acquired with support from the program, nor building or modifying facilities to house the equipment. * The program provides funding for the purchase of equipment used in research or produces data used in research. * The program does not fund common, general purpose ancillary equipment that would normally be found in a laboratory and/or is relatively easily procured by the organization or through other NIFA funding programs.